Ramaphosa expected to give update on Zuma's fate today

Cape Town - African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also SA deputy president, is on Wednesday expected to give feedback on talks regarding President Jacob Zuma's fate.

There has been mounting speculation of the imminent departure of Zuma. Analysts say his position as president became untenable as soon as Ramaphosa won ANC elections in December and took over the reins of the ruling party from Zuma.

For his part Ramaphosa has said the removal of Zuma as SA president should not be done in a manner that humiliates him.

In an attempt to calm anxious South Africans, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete told news channel eNCA that she ''was talking with the president of the ANC [Ramaphosa] earlier and I am confident he will report back to us today [Wednesday]. I think the president will guide us on the extent of their consultations today''.

Confusion around Zuma's political future continues with no official clarity from the governing party, prompting a barrage of false information circulated through text messages and social media.

Late Tuesday the ANC announced the postponement of Wednesday's meeting of its powerful national executive committee (NEC), which was expected to force Zuma to resign.

The NEC meeting will now be held on 17 and 18 February. The announcement came on the back of the unprecedented cancellation of the state of the nation address that was scheduled for Thursday.

There has been no official comment from the ANC on what happens between now and the next meeting. For now, Zuma, whose term ends next year, remains president.

If he fails to resign, the beleaguered former leader of the ANC faces a no-confidence motion in Parliament scheduled for February 22.

He is the subject of a state capture commission of inquiry and is also in danger of impeachment and the possibility of decade-old corruption charges being reinstated. In the expected event that Zuma eventually resigns, he gets to keep his generous benefits.